《King》是南方说唱歌手T.I.的第四张专辑，专辑发行首周以52万2千张的单周销量在本周的Billboard 200专辑榜中轻松称王。《King》不仅是T.I.到目前为止在Billboard 200专辑榜中打榜成绩最好的专辑，而且还是自2005年圣诞节以来美国唱片市场单周销量最高的一张专辑。此前，T.I. 2004年的专辑《Urban Legend》发行首周排在Billboard 200专辑榜第七位，首周的销量为19万3千张。而他2003年的专辑《Trap Muzik》在发行的第一周虽名列当周Billboard 200专辑榜的第四位，但首周的销量仅为以10万9千张。 从2001年发行首张专辑以来，T.I.的进步有目共睹，仅用了五年时间便从当初默默无闻的街头小子成长为美国南方说唱界的代表人物。在去年成功获得第48届格莱美奖最佳说唱歌手提名之后，一步一个脚印前进的T.I.这次给人的感觉像有上了一个台阶。本张《King》的制作团队也是T.I.四张专辑中最为强大的一次，除了著名Hip-Hop制作人曼尼·弗莱士（Mannie Fresh）和获本届格莱美三项大奖的金牌制作人坎耶·维斯特（Kanye West）强强联手为T.I.打造这张颇费心思的专辑之外，第二张个人专辑成功在今年初的Billboard 200专辑榜中夺冠的奥斯卡影帝吉米·福克斯（Jamie Foxx）以及Young Jeezy，Pharrell和Common等诸多大腕的加入使得本张专辑显得更加具有竞争力。 如果说T.I.之前的三张专辑还是在美国说唱界小心翼翼探路的话，那么他这张《King》已经是在毫不掩饰的在展露自己的霸气。T.I.日渐膨胀的嚣张气焰以及专辑中处处充满挑衅的歌词都印证了他的处世哲学--“我告诉你，没有人比我强大”！但T.I.的这张专辑究竟是不是牛到可以让人心服口服地承认他是“King”，还得歌迷说了算。KFC MAN/文 Released the same week as ATL, his big-screen debut, T.I.'s fourth album isn't the leap forward he's been threatening to make, but it does carry the best set of productions he has been given to work with, and it guarantees that he won't be leaving the singles charts any time soon. On a steady basis since 2003, the MC has been responsible for some of the most memorable rap singles of the decade. "24's," "T.I. vs. T.I.P.," "*** Man," "Bring Em Out," "U Don't Know Me," and the underappreciated "ASAP" amount to a run as impressive as anyone else's during the same years, and the streak continued with King's first official single. The slow victory lap that is "What You Know" is T.I.'s greatest track yet, a Toomp production with high and low synthesizer notes -- all of which sound like severely pitched-down synthetic horn lines -- drawn out to the point where they're practically bleeding into one another; T.I. similarly extends his syllables ("Just keep it very cooool, or we will bury yooou") for maximum looming effect. The track is emblematic of the album in that T.I. is basically saying the same things he has said many times before, but he's finding slightly different ways to say them, and as long as he doesn't get lackadaisical and his producers keep up, he'll be at the top of his game. The swarming all-out-assault "I'm Talking to You" and the Rick Rubin-worthy "You Know Who" play roles similar to that of Urban Legend's "Bring Em Out," and though neither one is quite as swift, they add further muscle to an MC who tends to be regarded as smooth. Some of the less energetic tracks weigh the 75-minute album down, but "Why You Wanna" works surprisingly well, given that T.I. tends to sound out of place when he's playing loverman and that the plangent keyboards from Crystal Waters' "Gypsy Woman" really have no business being anywhere near a rap track. It is frustrating that T.I. has only been refining his material since 2003's Trap Muzik, but that has been more than enough to gradually raise his profile. Maybe he needs a flop to spark some risk-taking. For better or worse, it doesn't look like that will be happening anytime soon.